This collective volume offers a multidisciplinary examination of the critical issues and challenges associated with the EU’s initiative to build a Security Union, particularly in relation to common policies adopted at the member state level aimed at countering terrorism and crime. It delves into the EU’s efforts to support cross-border investigations, the exchange of information and international cooperation, taking stock of the effects on freedom and privacy.

The creation of a European prosecuting authority is a historic achievement for the European Union, especially at a time when populism, as epitomised by Brexit, has undermined the process of integration.

This Policy Paper examines EU counter-terrorism policies in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attacks of 18 August 2017 in Catalonia and explores what more the EU can do to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of those policies.

It wasn’t me! This was in essence what the European Council, alongside the Council and the Commission, answered to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) when asked about the authorship of the EU-Turkey Statement. This is surprising, as the Statement – often referred to as the EU-Turkey Refugee Deal – was widely celebrated by the EU institutions themselves as the main EU response to the ‘refugee crisis’.

In July 2013, the European Commission issued a Proposal for a Council Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), i.e. a European body to be empowered to investigate and prosecute crimes affecting the financial interests of the EU. This contribution analyses the most relevant features of the (probably) forthcoming Office, as it is envisaged in the text currently under negotiation in the Council.

The refugee crisis that unfolded in Europe in the summer of 2015 questions the effectiveness of European border and refugee policies. The breakdown of the Dublin and Schengen rules due to chaotic situations at the borders in the Balkans marks a critical juncture for the EU.

The migration, humanitarian and policy crises in the European Union in 2015 and early 2016 have highlighted, among many other problems, a pressing need for reliable, timely and comparable statistical data on migration, asylum, and arrivals at national borders.

This paper examines key developments in the field of European border surveillance in the Mediterranean. By asking, ‘Whose Mare?’, we focus on rule of law challenges stemming from these developments in a post-Lisbon EU.